Technologies for efficiently booting sleds in a disaggregated architecture

ABSTRACT

Technologies for efficiently booting sleds in a disaggregated architecture include a sled. The sled includes a network interface controller, a set of processors, and firmware that includes an operating system. Additionally, the sled includes circuitry to perform, with multiple processors in the set of processors, a boot process. The circuitry is also to initialize the operating system present in the firmware, receive, with the network interface controller and from another sled, an assignment of a workload, and execute the assigned workload with the operating system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of Indian Provisional PatentApplication No. 201741030632, filed Aug. 30, 2017 and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/584,401, filed Nov. 10, 2017.

BACKGROUND

Typical compute devices are equipped with a basic input output system(BIOS) that includes logic (e.g., circuitry, firmware, etc.) capable ofenabling a processor of the compute device to communicate with arelatively large number of different components that may be installed onthe compute device. As the range of components that could be installedon a compute device grows over time (e.g., as more components aredeveloped and sold), the amount of logic included in the BIOS (e.g., bya manufacturer) to support those components increases correspondingly,adding cost to the manufacture of the compute device, and potentiallyincreasing the time spent during the boot process to detect andinitialize the components. In a cloud computing environment (e.g., acloud data center), in which a large number of compute devices are toperform workloads (e.g., applications) on behalf of customers, the costsof any additional logic are multiplied across the many compute devicesin the data center and the time spent in boot processes results in lossof compute capacity for the data center during those periods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of example and notby way of limitation in the accompanying figures. For simplicity andclarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Where considered appropriate, referencelabels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding oranalogous elements.

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of at least one embodiment of a datacenter for executing workloads with disaggregated resources;

FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of at least one embodiment of a pod thatmay be included in the data center of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of at least one embodiment of a rack thatmay be included in the pod of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the rack of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 3 having a sled mountedtherein;

FIG. 6 is a is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment ofa top side of the sled of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of abottom side of the sled of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of acompute sled usable in the data center of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of at least one embodiment of thecompute sled of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of anaccelerator sled usable in the data center of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a top perspective view of at least one embodiment of theaccelerator sled of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of astorage sled usable in the data center of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of at least one embodiment of thestorage sled of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of amemory sled usable in the data center of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a simplified block diagram of a system that may beestablished within the data center of FIG. 1 to execute workloads withmanaged nodes composed of disaggregated resources;

FIG. 16 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of asystem for efficiently booting sleds; and

FIGS. 17-18 are a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment ofa method for efficiently booting a sled that may be performed by a sledof FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof havebeen shown by way of example in the drawings and will be describedherein in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is nointent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure to the particularforms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the presentdisclosure and the appended claims.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an illustrative embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may or may not necessarily includethat particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, suchphrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further,when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure,or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described. Additionally, it should be appreciated that itemsincluded in a list in the form of “at least one A, B, and C” can mean(A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and C).Similarly, items listed in the form of “at least one of A, B, or C” canmean (A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and C).

The disclosed embodiments may be implemented, in some cases, inhardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. The disclosedembodiments may also be implemented as instructions carried by or storedon a transitory or non-transitory machine-readable (e.g.,computer-readable) storage medium, which may be read and executed by oneor more processors. A machine-readable storage medium may be embodied asany storage device, mechanism, or other physical structure for storingor transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., avolatile or non-volatile memory, a media disc, or other media device).

In the drawings, some structural or method features may be shown inspecific arrangements and/or orderings. However, it should beappreciated that such specific arrangements and/or orderings may not berequired. Rather, in some embodiments, such features may be arranged ina different manner and/or order than shown in the illustrative figures.Additionally, the inclusion of a structural or method feature in aparticular figure is not meant to imply that such feature is required inall embodiments and, in some embodiments, may not be included or may becombined with other features.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a data center 100 in which disaggregatedresources may cooperatively execute one or more workloads (e.g.,applications on behalf of customers) includes multiple pods 110, 120,130, 140, each of which includes one or more rows of racks. Of course,although data center 100 is shown with multiple pods, in someembodiments, the data center 100 may be embodied as a single pod. Asdescribed in more detail herein, each rack houses multiple sleds, eachof which may be primarily equipped with a particular type of resource(e.g., memory devices, data storage devices, accelerator devices,general purpose processors), i.e., resources that can be logicallycoupled to form a composed node, which can act as, for example, aserver. In the illustrative embodiment, the sleds in each pod 110, 120,130, 140 are connected to multiple pod switches (e.g., switches thatroute data communications to and from sleds within the pod). The podswitches, in turn, connect with spine switches 150 that switchcommunications among pods (e.g., the pods 110, 120, 130, 140) in thedata center 100. In some embodiments, the sleds may be connected with afabric using Intel Omni-Path technology. In other embodiments, the sledsmay be connected with other fabrics, such as InfiniBand or Ethernet. Asdescribed in more detail herein, resources within sleds in the datacenter 100 may be allocated to a group (referred to herein as a “managednode”) containing resources from one or more sleds to be collectivelyutilized in the execution of a workload. The workload can execute as ifthe resources belonging to the managed node were located on the samesled. The resources in a managed node may belong to sleds belonging todifferent racks, and even to different pods 110, 120, 130, 140. As such,some resources of a single sled may be allocated to one managed nodewhile other resources of the same sled are allocated to a differentmanaged node (e.g., one processor assigned to one managed node andanother processor of the same sled assigned to a different managednode).

A data center comprising disaggregated resources, such as data center100, can be used in a wide variety of contexts, such as enterprise,government, cloud service provider, and communications service provider(e.g., Telco's), as well in a wide variety of sizes, from cloud serviceprovider mega-data centers that consume over 100,000 sq. ft. to single-or multi-rack installations for use in base stations.

The disaggregation of resources to sleds comprised predominantly of asingle type of resource (e.g., compute sleds comprising primarilycompute resources, memory sleds containing primarily memory resources),and the selective allocation and deallocation of the disaggregatedresources to form a managed node assigned to execute a workload improvesthe operation and resource usage of the data center 100 relative totypical data centers comprised of hyperconverged servers containingcompute, memory, storage and perhaps additional resources in a singlechassis. For example, because sleds predominantly contain resources of aparticular type, resources of a given type can be upgraded independentlyof other resources. Additionally, because different resources types(processors, storage, accelerators, etc.) typically have differentrefresh rates, greater resource utilization and reduced total cost ofownership may be achieved. For example, a data center operator canupgrade the processors throughout their facility by only swapping outthe compute sleds. In such a case, accelerator and storage resources maynot be contemporaneously upgraded and, rather, may be allowed tocontinue operating until those resources are scheduled for their ownrefresh. Resource utilization may also increase. For example, if managednodes are composed based on requirements of the workloads that will berunning on them, resources within a node are more likely to be fullyutilized. Such utilization may allow for more managed nodes to run in adata center with a given set of resources, or for a data center expectedto run a given set of workloads, to be built using fewer resources.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the pod 110, in the illustrative embodiment,includes a set of rows 200, 210, 220, 230 of racks 240. Each rack 240may house multiple sleds (e.g., sixteen sleds) and provide power anddata connections to the housed sleds, as described in more detailherein. In the illustrative embodiment, the racks in each row 200, 210,220, 230 are connected to multiple pod switches 250, 260. The pod switch250 includes a set of ports 252 to which the sleds of the racks of thepod 110 are connected and another set of ports 254 that connect the pod110 to the spine switches 150 to provide connectivity to other pods inthe data center 100. Similarly, the pod switch 260 includes a set ofports 262 to which the sleds of the racks of the pod 110 are connectedand a set of ports 264 that connect the pod 110 to the spine switches150. As such, the use of the pair of switches 250, 260 provides anamount of redundancy to the pod 110. For example, if either of theswitches 250, 260 fails, the sleds in the pod 110 may still maintaindata communication with the remainder of the data center 100 (e.g.,sleds of other pods) through the other switch 250, 260. Furthermore, inthe illustrative embodiment, the switches 150, 250, 260 may be embodiedas dual-mode optical switches, capable of routing both Ethernet protocolcommunications carrying Internet Protocol (IP) packets andcommunications according to a second, high-performance link-layerprotocol (e.g., Intel's Omni-Path Architecture's, InfiniBand, PCIExpress) via optical signaling media of an optical fabric.

It should be appreciated that each of the other pods 120, 130, 140 (aswell as any additional pods of the data center 100) may be similarlystructured as, and have components similar to, the pod 110 shown in anddescribed in regard to FIG. 2 (e.g., each pod may have rows of rackshousing multiple sleds as described above). Additionally, while two podswitches 250, 260 are shown, it should be understood that in otherembodiments, each pod 110, 120, 130, 140 may be connected to a differentnumber of pod switches, providing even more failover capacity. Ofcourse, in other embodiments, pods may be arranged differently than therows-of-racks configuration shown in FIGS. 1-2. For example, a pod maybe embodied as multiple sets of racks in which each set of racks isarranged radially, i.e., the racks are equidistant from a center switch.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, each illustrative rack 240 of the datacenter 100 includes two elongated support posts 302, 304, which arearranged vertically. For example, the elongated support posts 302, 304may extend upwardly from a floor of the data center 100 when deployed.The rack 240 also includes one or more horizontal pairs 310 of elongatedsupport arms 312 (identified in FIG. 3 via a dashed ellipse) configuredto support a sled of the data center 100 as discussed below. Oneelongated support arm 312 of the pair of elongated support arms 312extends outwardly from the elongated support post 302 and the otherelongated support arm 312 extends outwardly from the elongated supportpost 304.

In the illustrative embodiments, each sled of the data center 100 isembodied as a chassis-less sled. That is, each sled has a chassis-lesscircuit board substrate on which physical resources (e.g., processors,memory, accelerators, storage, etc.) are mounted as discussed in moredetail below. As such, the rack 240 is configured to receive thechassis-less sleds. For example, each pair 310 of elongated support arms312 defines a sled slot 320 of the rack 240, which is configured toreceive a corresponding chassis-less sled. To do so, each illustrativeelongated support arm 312 includes a circuit board guide 330 configuredto receive the chassis-less circuit board substrate of the sled. Eachcircuit board guide 330 is secured to, or otherwise mounted to, a topside 332 of the corresponding elongated support arm 312. For example, inthe illustrative embodiment, each circuit board guide 330 is mounted ata distal end of the corresponding elongated support arm 312 relative tothe corresponding elongated support post 302, 304. For clarity of theFigures, not every circuit board guide 330 may be referenced in eachFigure.

Each circuit board guide 330 includes an inner wall that defines acircuit board slot 380 configured to receive the chassis-less circuitboard substrate of a sled 400 when the sled 400 is received in thecorresponding sled slot 320 of the rack 240. To do so, as shown in FIG.4, a user (or robot) aligns the chassis-less circuit board substrate ofan illustrative chassis-less sled 400 to a sled slot 320. The user, orrobot, may then slide the chassis-less circuit board substrate forwardinto the sled slot 320 such that each side edge 414 of the chassis-lesscircuit board substrate is received in a corresponding circuit boardslot 380 of the circuit board guides 330 of the pair 310 of elongatedsupport arms 312 that define the corresponding sled slot 320 as shown inFIG. 4. By having robotically accessible and robotically manipulablesleds comprising disaggregated resources, each type of resource can beupgraded independently of each other and at their own optimized refreshrate. Furthermore, the sleds are configured to blindly mate with powerand data communication cables in each rack 240, enhancing their abilityto be quickly removed, upgraded, reinstalled, and/or replaced. As such,in some embodiments, the data center 100 may operate (e.g., executeworkloads, undergo maintenance and/or upgrades, etc.) without humaninvolvement on the data center floor. In other embodiments, a human mayfacilitate one or more maintenance or upgrade operations in the datacenter 100.

It should be appreciated that each circuit board guide 330 is dualsided. That is, each circuit board guide 330 includes an inner wall thatdefines a circuit board slot 380 on each side of the circuit board guide330. In this way, each circuit board guide 330 can support achassis-less circuit board substrate on either side. As such, a singleadditional elongated support post may be added to the rack 240 to turnthe rack 240 into a two-rack solution that can hold twice as many sledslots 320 as shown in FIG. 3. The illustrative rack 240 includes sevenpairs 310 of elongated support arms 312 that define a correspondingseven sled slots 320, each configured to receive and support acorresponding sled 400 as discussed above. Of course, in otherembodiments, the rack 240 may include additional or fewer pairs 310 ofelongated support arms 312 (i.e., additional or fewer sled slots 320).It should be appreciated that because the sled 400 is chassis-less, thesled 400 may have an overall height that is different than typicalservers. As such, in some embodiments, the height of each sled slot 320may be shorter than the height of a typical server (e.g., shorter than asingle rank unit, “1U”). That is, the vertical distance between eachpair 310 of elongated support arms 312 may be less than a standard rackunit “1U.” Additionally, due to the relative decrease in height of thesled slots 320, the overall height of the rack 240 in some embodimentsmay be shorter than the height of traditional rack enclosures. Forexample, in some embodiments, each of the elongated support posts 302,304 may have a length of six feet or less. Again, in other embodiments,the rack 240 may have different dimensions. For example, in someembodiments, the vertical distance between each pair 310 of elongatedsupport arms 312 may be greater than a standard rack until “1U”. In suchembodiments, the increased vertical distance between the sleds allowsfor larger heat sinks to be attached to the physical resources and forlarger fans to be used (e.g., in the fan array 370 described below) forcooling each sled, which in turn can allow the physical resources tooperate at increased power levels. Further, it should be appreciatedthat the rack 240 does not include any walls, enclosures, or the like.Rather, the rack 240 is an enclosure-less rack that is opened to thelocal environment. Of course, in some cases, an end plate may beattached to one of the elongated support posts 302, 304 in thosesituations in which the rack 240 forms an end-of-row rack in the datacenter 100.

In some embodiments, various interconnects may be routed upwardly ordownwardly through the elongated support posts 302, 304. To facilitatesuch routing, each elongated support post 302, 304 includes an innerwall that defines an inner chamber in which interconnects may belocated. The interconnects routed through the elongated support posts302, 304 may be embodied as any type of interconnects including, but notlimited to, data or communication interconnects to provide communicationconnections to each sled slot 320, power interconnects to provide powerto each sled slot 320, and/or other types of interconnects.

The rack 240, in the illustrative embodiment, includes a supportplatform on which a corresponding optical data connector (not shown) ismounted. Each optical data connector is associated with a correspondingsled slot 320 and is configured to mate with an optical data connectorof a corresponding sled 400 when the sled 400 is received in thecorresponding sled slot 320. In some embodiments, optical connectionsbetween components (e.g., sleds, racks, and switches) in the data center100 are made with a blind mate optical connection. For example, a dooron each cable may prevent dust from contaminating the fiber inside thecable. In the process of connecting to a blind mate optical connectormechanism, the door is pushed open when the end of the cable approachesor enters the connector mechanism. Subsequently, the optical fiberinside the cable may enter a gel within the connector mechanism and theoptical fiber of one cable comes into contact with the optical fiber ofanother cable within the gel inside the connector mechanism.

The illustrative rack 240 also includes a fan array 370 coupled to thecross-support arms of the rack 240. The fan array 370 includes one ormore rows of cooling fans 372, which are aligned in a horizontal linebetween the elongated support posts 302, 304. In the illustrativeembodiment, the fan array 370 includes a row of cooling fans 372 foreach sled slot 320 of the rack 240. As discussed above, each sled 400does not include any on-board cooling system in the illustrativeembodiment and, as such, the fan array 370 provides cooling for eachsled 400 received in the rack 240. Each rack 240, in the illustrativeembodiment, also includes a power supply associated with each sled slot320. Each power supply is secured to one of the elongated support arms312 of the pair 310 of elongated support arms 312 that define thecorresponding sled slot 320. For example, the rack 240 may include apower supply coupled or secured to each elongated support arm 312extending from the elongated support post 302. Each power supplyincludes a power connector configured to mate with a power connector ofthe sled 400 when the sled 400 is received in the corresponding sledslot 320. In the illustrative embodiment, the sled 400 does not includeany on-board power supply and, as such, the power supplies provided inthe rack 240 supply power to corresponding sleds 400 when mounted to therack 240. Each power supply is configured to satisfy the powerrequirements for its associated sled, which can vary from sled to sled.Additionally, the power supplies provided in the rack 240 can operateindependent of each other. That is, within a single rack, a first powersupply providing power to a compute sled can provide power levels thatare different than power levels supplied by a second power supplyproviding power to an accelerator sled. The power supplies may becontrollable at the sled level or rack level, and may be controlledlocally by components on the associated sled or remotely, such as byanother sled or an orchestrator.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the sled 400, in the illustrative embodiment,is configured to be mounted in a corresponding rack 240 of the datacenter 100 as discussed above. In some embodiments, each sled 400 may beoptimized or otherwise configured for performing particular tasks, suchas compute tasks, acceleration tasks, data storage tasks, etc. Forexample, the sled 400 may be embodied as a compute sled 800 as discussedbelow in regard to FIGS. 8-9, an accelerator sled 1000 as discussedbelow in regard to FIGS. 10-11, a storage sled 1200 as discussed belowin regard to FIGS. 12-13, or as a sled optimized or otherwise configuredto perform other specialized tasks, such as a memory sled 1400,discussed below in regard to FIG. 14.

As discussed above, the illustrative sled 400 includes a chassis-lesscircuit board substrate 602, which supports various physical resources(e.g., electrical components) mounted thereon. It should be appreciatedthat the circuit board substrate 602 is “chassis-less” in that the sled400 does not include a housing or enclosure. Rather, the chassis-lesscircuit board substrate 602 is open to the local environment. Thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 may be formed from any materialcapable of supporting the various electrical components mounted thereon.For example, in an illustrative embodiment, the chassis-less circuitboard substrate 602 is formed from an FR-4 glass-reinforced epoxylaminate material. Of course, other materials may be used to form thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 in other embodiments.

As discussed in more detail below, the chassis-less circuit boardsubstrate 602 includes multiple features that improve the thermalcooling characteristics of the various electrical components mounted onthe chassis-less circuit board substrate 602. As discussed, thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 does not include a housing orenclosure, which may improve the airflow over the electrical componentsof the sled 400 by reducing those structures that may inhibit air flow.For example, because the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 is notpositioned in an individual housing or enclosure, there is novertically-arranged backplane (e.g., a backplate of the chassis)attached to the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602, which couldinhibit air flow across the electrical components. Additionally, thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 has a geometric shapeconfigured to reduce the length of the airflow path across theelectrical components mounted to the chassis-less circuit boardsubstrate 602. For example, the illustrative chassis-less circuit boardsubstrate 602 has a width 604 that is greater than a depth 606 of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602. In one particular embodiment,for example, the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 has a width ofabout 21 inches and a depth of about 9 inches, compared to a typicalserver that has a width of about 17 inches and a depth of about 39inches. As such, an airflow path 608 that extends from a front edge 610of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 toward a rear edge 612has a shorter distance relative to typical servers, which may improvethe thermal cooling characteristics of the sled 400. Furthermore,although not illustrated in FIG. 6, the various physical resourcesmounted to the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 are mounted incorresponding locations such that no two substantively heat-producingelectrical components shadow each other as discussed in more detailbelow. That is, no two electrical components, which produce appreciableheat during operation (i.e., greater than a nominal heat sufficientenough to adversely impact the cooling of another electrical component),are mounted to the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 linearlyin-line with each other along the direction of the airflow path 608(i.e., along a direction extending from the front edge 610 toward therear edge 612 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602).

As discussed above, the illustrative sled 400 includes one or morephysical resources 620 mounted to a top side 650 of the chassis-lesscircuit board substrate 602. Although two physical resources 620 areshown in FIG. 6, it should be appreciated that the sled 400 may includeone, two, or more physical resources 620 in other embodiments. Thephysical resources 620 may be embodied as any type of processor,controller, or other compute circuit capable of performing various taskssuch as compute functions and/or controlling the functions of the sled400 depending on, for example, the type or intended functionality of thesled 400. For example, as discussed in more detail below, the physicalresources 620 may be embodied as high-performance processors inembodiments in which the sled 400 is embodied as a compute sled, asaccelerator co-processors or circuits in embodiments in which the sled400 is embodied as an accelerator sled, storage controllers inembodiments in which the sled 400 is embodied as a storage sled, or aset of memory devices in embodiments in which the sled 400 is embodiedas a memory sled.

The sled 400 also includes one or more additional physical resources 630mounted to the top side 650 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate602. In the illustrative embodiment, the additional physical resourcesinclude a network interface controller (NIC) as discussed in more detailbelow. Of course, depending on the type and functionality of the sled400, the physical resources 630 may include additional or otherelectrical components, circuits, and/or devices in other embodiments.

The physical resources 620 are communicatively coupled to the physicalresources 630 via an input/output (I/O) subsystem 622. The I/O subsystem622 may be embodied as circuitry and/or components to facilitateinput/output operations with the physical resources 620, the physicalresources 630, and/or other components of the sled 400. For example, theI/O subsystem 622 may be embodied as, or otherwise include, memorycontroller hubs, input/output control hubs, integrated sensor hubs,firmware devices, communication links (e.g., point-to-point links, buslinks, wires, cables, waveguides, light guides, printed circuit boardtraces, etc.), and/or other components and subsystems to facilitate theinput/output operations. In the illustrative embodiment, the I/Osubsystem 622 is embodied as, or otherwise includes, a double data rate4 (DDR4) data bus or a DDR5 data bus.

In some embodiments, the sled 400 may also include aresource-to-resource interconnect 624. The resource-to-resourceinterconnect 624 may be embodied as any type of communicationinterconnect capable of facilitating resource-to-resourcecommunications. In the illustrative embodiment, the resource-to-resourceinterconnect 624 is embodied as a high-speed point-to-point interconnect(e.g., faster than the I/O subsystem 622). For example, theresource-to-resource interconnect 624 may be embodied as a QuickPathInterconnect (QPI), an UltraPath Interconnect (UPI), or other high-speedpoint-to-point interconnect dedicated to resource-to-resourcecommunications.

The sled 400 also includes a power connector 640 configured to mate witha corresponding power connector of the rack 240 when the sled 400 ismounted in the corresponding rack 240. The sled 400 receives power froma power supply of the rack 240 via the power connector 640 to supplypower to the various electrical components of the sled 400. That is, thesled 400 does not include any local power supply (i.e., an on-boardpower supply) to provide power to the electrical components of the sled400. The exclusion of a local or on-board power supply facilitates thereduction in the overall footprint of the chassis-less circuit boardsubstrate 602, which may increase the thermal cooling characteristics ofthe various electrical components mounted on the chassis-less circuitboard substrate 602 as discussed above. In some embodiments, voltageregulators are placed on a bottom side 750 (see FIG. 7) of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 directly opposite of theprocessors 820 (see FIG. 8), and power is routed from the voltageregulators to the processors 820 by vias extending through the circuitboard substrate 602. Such a configuration provides an increased thermalbudget, additional current and/or voltage, and better voltage controlrelative to typical printed circuit boards in which processor power isdelivered from a voltage regulator, in part, by printed circuit traces.

In some embodiments, the sled 400 may also include mounting features 642configured to mate with a mounting arm, or other structure, of a robotto facilitate the placement of the sled 600 in a rack 240 by the robot.The mounting features 642 may be embodied as any type of physicalstructures that allow the robot to grasp the sled 400 without damagingthe chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 or the electricalcomponents mounted thereto. For example, in some embodiments, themounting features 642 may be embodied as non-conductive pads attached tothe chassis-less circuit board substrate 602. In other embodiments, themounting features may be embodied as brackets, braces, or other similarstructures attached to the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602. Theparticular number, shape, size, and/or make-up of the mounting feature642 may depend on the design of the robot configured to manage the sled400.

Referring now to FIG. 7, in addition to the physical resources 630mounted on the top side 650 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate602, the sled 400 also includes one or more memory devices 720 mountedto a bottom side 750 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602.That is, the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 is embodied as adouble-sided circuit board. The physical resources 620 arecommunicatively coupled to the memory devices 720 via the I/O subsystem622. For example, the physical resources 620 and the memory devices 720may be communicatively coupled by one or more vias extending through thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602. Each physical resource 620 maybe communicatively coupled to a different set of one or more memorydevices 720 in some embodiments. Alternatively, in other embodiments,each physical resource 620 may be communicatively coupled to each memorydevice 720.

The memory devices 720 may be embodied as any type of memory devicecapable of storing data for the physical resources 620 during operationof the sled 400, such as any type of volatile (e.g., dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM), etc.) or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory maybe a storage medium that requires power to maintain the state of datastored by the medium. Non-limiting examples of volatile memory mayinclude various types of random access memory (RAM), such as dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) or static random access memory (SRAM). Oneparticular type of DRAM that may be used in a memory module issynchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). In particularembodiments, DRAM of a memory component may comply with a standardpromulgated by JEDEC, such as JESD79F for DDR SDRAM, JESD79-2F for DDR2SDRAM, JESD79-3F for DDR3 SDRAM, JESD79-4A for DDR4 SDRAM, JESD209 forLow Power DDR (LPDDR), JESD209-2 for LPDDR2, JESD209-3 for LPDDR3, andJESD209-4 for LPDDR4. Such standards (and similar standards) may bereferred to as DDR-based standards and communication interfaces of thestorage devices that implement such standards may be referred to asDDR-based interfaces.

In one embodiment, the memory device is a block addressable memorydevice, such as those based on NAND or NOR technologies. A memory devicemay also include next-generation nonvolatile devices, such as Intel 3DXPoint™ memory or other byte addressable write-in-place nonvolatilememory devices. In one embodiment, the memory device may be or mayinclude memory devices that use chalcogenide glass, multi-thresholdlevel NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, single or multi-level PhaseChange Memory (PCM), a resistive memory, nanowire memory, ferroelectrictransistor random access memory (FeTRAM), anti-ferroelectric memory,magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) memory that incorporatesmemristor technology, resistive memory including the metal oxide base,the oxygen vacancy base and the conductive bridge Random Access Memory(CB-RAM), or spin transfer torque (STT)-MRAM, a spintronic magneticjunction memory based device, a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) baseddevice, a DW (Domain Wall) and SOT (Spin Orbit Transfer) based device, athyristor based memory device, or a combination of any of the above, orother memory. The memory device may refer to the die itself and/or to apackaged memory product. In some embodiments, the memory device maycomprise a transistor-less stackable cross point architecture in whichmemory cells sit at the intersection of word lines and bit lines and areindividually addressable and in which bit storage is based on a changein bulk resistance.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in some embodiments, the sled 400 may beembodied as a compute sled 800. The compute sled 800 is optimized, orotherwise configured, to perform compute tasks. Of course, as discussedabove, the compute sled 800 may rely on other sleds, such asacceleration sleds and/or storage sleds, to perform such compute tasks.The compute sled 800 includes various physical resources (e.g.,electrical components) similar to the physical resources of the sled400, which have been identified in FIG. 8 using the same referencenumbers. The description of such components provided above in regard toFIGS. 6 and 7 applies to the corresponding components of the computesled 800 and is not repeated herein for clarity of the description ofthe compute sled 800.

In the illustrative compute sled 800, the physical resources 620 areembodied as processors 820. Although only two processors 820 are shownin FIG. 8, it should be appreciated that the compute sled 800 mayinclude additional processors 820 in other embodiments. Illustratively,the processors 820 are embodied as high-performance processors 820 andmay be configured to operate at a relatively high power rating. Althoughthe processors 820 generate additional heat operating at power ratingsgreater than typical processors (which operate at around 155-230 W), theenhanced thermal cooling characteristics of the chassis-less circuitboard substrate 602 discussed above facilitate the higher poweroperation. For example, in the illustrative embodiment, the processors820 are configured to operate at a power rating of at least 250 W. Insome embodiments, the processors 820 may be configured to operate at apower rating of at least 350 W.

In some embodiments, the compute sled 800 may also include aprocessor-to-processor interconnect 842. Similar to theresource-to-resource interconnect 624 of the sled 400 discussed above,the processor-to-processor interconnect 842 may be embodied as any typeof communication interconnect capable of facilitatingprocessor-to-processor interconnect 842 communications. In theillustrative embodiment, the processor-to-processor interconnect 842 isembodied as a high-speed point-to-point interconnect (e.g., faster thanthe I/O subsystem 622). For example, the processor-to-processorinterconnect 842 may be embodied as a QuickPath Interconnect (QPI), anUltraPath Interconnect (UPI), or other high-speed point-to-pointinterconnect dedicated to processor-to-processor communications.

The compute sled 800 also includes a communication circuit 830. Theillustrative communication circuit 830 includes a network interfacecontroller (NIC) 832, which may also be referred to as a host fabricinterface (HFI). The NIC 832 may be embodied as, or otherwise include,any type of integrated circuit, discrete circuits, controller chips,chipsets, add-in-boards, daughtercards, network interface cards, orother devices that may be used by the compute sled 800 to connect withanother compute device (e.g., with other sleds 400). In someembodiments, the NIC 832 may be embodied as part of a system-on-a-chip(SoC) that includes one or more processors, or included on a multichippackage that also contains one or more processors. In some embodiments,the NIC 832 may include a local processor (not shown) and/or a localmemory (not shown) that are both local to the NIC 832. In suchembodiments, the local processor of the NIC 832 may be capable ofperforming one or more of the functions of the processors 820.Additionally or alternatively, in such embodiments, the local memory ofthe NIC 832 may be integrated into one or more components of the computesled at the board level, socket level, chip level, and/or other levels.

The communication circuit 830 is communicatively coupled to an opticaldata connector 834. The optical data connector 834 is configured to matewith a corresponding optical data connector of the rack 240 when thecompute sled 800 is mounted in the rack 240. Illustratively, the opticaldata connector 834 includes a plurality of optical fibers which leadfrom a mating surface of the optical data connector 834 to an opticaltransceiver 836. The optical transceiver 836 is configured to convertincoming optical signals from the rack-side optical data connector toelectrical signals and to convert electrical signals to outgoing opticalsignals to the rack-side optical data connector. Although shown asforming part of the optical data connector 834 in the illustrativeembodiment, the optical transceiver 836 may form a portion of thecommunication circuit 830 in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the compute sled 800 may also include an expansionconnector 840. In such embodiments, the expansion connector 840 isconfigured to mate with a corresponding connector of an expansionchassis-less circuit board substrate to provide additional physicalresources to the compute sled 800. The additional physical resources maybe used, for example, by the processors 820 during operation of thecompute sled 800. The expansion chassis-less circuit board substrate maybe substantially similar to the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602discussed above and may include various electrical components mountedthereto. The particular electrical components mounted to the expansionchassis-less circuit board substrate may depend on the intendedfunctionality of the expansion chassis-less circuit board substrate. Forexample, the expansion chassis-less circuit board substrate may provideadditional compute resources, memory resources, and/or storageresources. As such, the additional physical resources of the expansionchassis-less circuit board substrate may include, but is not limited to,processors, memory devices, storage devices, and/or accelerator circuitsincluding, for example, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), securityco-processors, graphics processing units (GPUs), machine learningcircuits, or other specialized processors, controllers, devices, and/orcircuits.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an illustrative embodiment of the compute sled800 is shown. As shown, the processors 820, communication circuit 830,and optical data connector 834 are mounted to the top side 650 of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602. Any suitable attachment ormounting technology may be used to mount the physical resources of thecompute sled 800 to the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602. Forexample, the various physical resources may be mounted in correspondingsockets (e.g., a processor socket), holders, or brackets. In some cases,some of the electrical components may be directly mounted to thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 via soldering or similartechniques.

As discussed above, the individual processors 820 and communicationcircuit 830 are mounted to the top side 650 of the chassis-less circuitboard substrate 602 such that no two heat-producing, electricalcomponents shadow each other. In the illustrative embodiment, theprocessors 820 and communication circuit 830 are mounted incorresponding locations on the top side 650 of the chassis-less circuitboard substrate 602 such that no two of those physical resources arelinearly in-line with others along the direction of the airflow path608. It should be appreciated that, although the optical data connector834 is in-line with the communication circuit 830, the optical dataconnector 834 produces no or nominal heat during operation.

The memory devices 720 of the compute sled 800 are mounted to the bottomside 750 of the of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 asdiscussed above in regard to the sled 400. Although mounted to thebottom side 750, the memory devices 720 are communicatively coupled tothe processors 820 located on the top side 650 via the I/O subsystem622. Because the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 is embodied asa double-sided circuit board, the memory devices 720 and the processors820 may be communicatively coupled by one or more vias, connectors, orother mechanisms extending through the chassis-less circuit boardsubstrate 602. Of course, each processor 820 may be communicativelycoupled to a different set of one or more memory devices 720 in someembodiments. Alternatively, in other embodiments, each processor 820 maybe communicatively coupled to each memory device 720. In someembodiments, the memory devices 720 may be mounted to one or more memorymezzanines on the bottom side of the chassis-less circuit boardsubstrate 602 and may interconnect with a corresponding processor 820through a ball-grid array.

Each of the processors 820 includes a heatsink 850 secured thereto. Dueto the mounting of the memory devices 720 to the bottom side 750 of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 (as well as the verticalspacing of the sleds 400 in the corresponding rack 240), the top side650 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 includes additional“free” area or space that facilitates the use of heatsinks 850 having alarger size relative to traditional heatsinks used in typical servers.Additionally, due to the improved thermal cooling characteristics of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602, none of the processorheatsinks 850 include cooling fans attached thereto. That is, each ofthe heatsinks 850 is embodied as a fan-less heatsink. In someembodiments, the heat sinks 850 mounted atop the processors 820 mayoverlap with the heat sink attached to the communication circuit 830 inthe direction of the airflow path 608 due to their increased size, asillustratively suggested by FIG. 9.

Referring now to FIG. 10, in some embodiments, the sled 400 may beembodied as an accelerator sled 1000. The accelerator sled 1000 isconfigured, to perform specialized compute tasks, such as machinelearning, encryption, hashing, or other computational-intensive task. Insome embodiments, for example, a compute sled 800 may offload tasks tothe accelerator sled 1000 during operation. The accelerator sled 1000includes various components similar to components of the sled 400 and/orcompute sled 800, which have been identified in FIG. 10 using the samereference numbers. The description of such components provided above inregard to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 apply to the corresponding components of theaccelerator sled 1000 and is not repeated herein for clarity of thedescription of the accelerator sled 1000.

In the illustrative accelerator sled 1000, the physical resources 620are embodied as accelerator circuits 1020. Although only two acceleratorcircuits 1020 are shown in FIG. 10, it should be appreciated that theaccelerator sled 1000 may include additional accelerator circuits 1020in other embodiments. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the acceleratorsled 1000 may include four accelerator circuits 1020 in someembodiments. The accelerator circuits 1020 may be embodied as any typeof processor, co-processor, compute circuit, or other device capable ofperforming compute or processing operations. For example, theaccelerator circuits 1020 may be embodied as, for example, fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGA), application-specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), security co-processors, graphics processing units(GPUs), neuromorphic processor units, quantum computers, machinelearning circuits, or other specialized processors, controllers,devices, and/or circuits.

In some embodiments, the accelerator sled 1000 may also include anaccelerator-to-accelerator interconnect 1042. Similar to theresource-to-resource interconnect 624 of the sled 600 discussed above,the accelerator-to-accelerator interconnect 1042 may be embodied as anytype of communication interconnect capable of facilitatingaccelerator-to-accelerator communications. In the illustrativeembodiment, the accelerator-to-accelerator interconnect 1042 is embodiedas a high-speed point-to-point interconnect (e.g., faster than the I/Osubsystem 622). For example, the accelerator-to-accelerator interconnect1042 may be embodied as a QuickPath Interconnect (QPI), an UltraPathInterconnect (UPI), or other high-speed point-to-point interconnectdedicated to processor-to-processor communications. In some embodiments,the accelerator circuits 1020 may be daisy-chained with a primaryaccelerator circuit 1020 connected to the NIC 832 and memory 720 throughthe I/O subsystem 622 and a secondary accelerator circuit 1020 connectedto the NIC 832 and memory 720 through a primary accelerator circuit1020.

Referring now to FIG. 11, an illustrative embodiment of the acceleratorsled 1000 is shown. As discussed above, the accelerator circuits 1020,communication circuit 830, and optical data connector 834 are mounted tothe top side 650 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602. Again,the individual accelerator circuits 1020 and communication circuit 830are mounted to the top side 650 of the chassis-less circuit boardsubstrate 602 such that no two heat-producing, electrical componentsshadow each other as discussed above. The memory devices 720 of theaccelerator sled 1000 are mounted to the bottom side 750 of the of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 as discussed above in regard tothe sled 600. Although mounted to the bottom side 750, the memorydevices 720 are communicatively coupled to the accelerator circuits 1020located on the top side 650 via the I/O subsystem 622 (e.g., throughvias). Further, each of the accelerator circuits 1020 may include aheatsink 1070 that is larger than a traditional heatsink used in aserver. As discussed above with reference to the heatsinks 870, theheatsinks 1070 may be larger than traditional heatsinks because of the“free” area provided by the memory resources 720 being located on thebottom side 750 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 ratherthan on the top side 650.

Referring now to FIG. 12, in some embodiments, the sled 400 may beembodied as a storage sled 1200. The storage sled 1200 is configured, tostore data in a data storage 1250 local to the storage sled 1200. Forexample, during operation, a compute sled 800 or an accelerator sled1000 may store and retrieve data from the data storage 1250 of thestorage sled 1200. The storage sled 1200 includes various componentssimilar to components of the sled 400 and/or the compute sled 800, whichhave been identified in FIG. 12 using the same reference numbers. Thedescription of such components provided above in regard to FIGS. 6, 7,and 8 apply to the corresponding components of the storage sled 1200 andis not repeated herein for clarity of the description of the storagesled 1200.

In the illustrative storage sled 1200, the physical resources 620 areembodied as storage controllers 1220. Although only two storagecontrollers 1220 are shown in FIG. 12, it should be appreciated that thestorage sled 1200 may include additional storage controllers 1220 inother embodiments. The storage controllers 1220 may be embodied as anytype of processor, controller, or control circuit capable of controllingthe storage and retrieval of data into the data storage 1250 based onrequests received via the communication circuit 830. In the illustrativeembodiment, the storage controllers 1220 are embodied as relativelylow-power processors or controllers. For example, in some embodiments,the storage controllers 1220 may be configured to operate at a powerrating of about 75 watts.

In some embodiments, the storage sled 1200 may also include acontroller-to-controller interconnect 1242. Similar to theresource-to-resource interconnect 624 of the sled 400 discussed above,the controller-to-controller interconnect 1242 may be embodied as anytype of communication interconnect capable of facilitatingcontroller-to-controller communications. In the illustrative embodiment,the controller-to-controller interconnect 1242 is embodied as ahigh-speed point-to-point interconnect (e.g., faster than the I/Osubsystem 622). For example, the controller-to-controller interconnect1242 may be embodied as a QuickPath Interconnect (QPI), an UltraPathInterconnect (UPI), or other high-speed point-to-point interconnectdedicated to processor-to-processor communications.

Referring now to FIG. 13, an illustrative embodiment of the storage sled1200 is shown. In the illustrative embodiment, the data storage 1250 isembodied as, or otherwise includes, a storage cage 1252 configured tohouse one or more solid state drives (SSDs) 1254. To do so, the storagecage 1252 includes a number of mounting slots 1256, each of which isconfigured to receive a corresponding solid state drive 1254. Each ofthe mounting slots 1256 includes a number of drive guides 1258 thatcooperate to define an access opening 1260 of the corresponding mountingslot 1256. The storage cage 1252 is secured to the chassis-less circuitboard substrate 602 such that the access openings face away from (i.e.,toward the front of) the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602. Assuch, solid state drives 1254 are accessible while the storage sled 1200is mounted in a corresponding rack 204. For example, a solid state drive1254 may be swapped out of a rack 240 (e.g., via a robot) while thestorage sled 1200 remains mounted in the corresponding rack 240.

The storage cage 1252 illustratively includes sixteen mounting slots1256 and is capable of mounting and storing sixteen solid state drives1254. Of course, the storage cage 1252 may be configured to storeadditional or fewer solid state drives 1254 in other embodiments.Additionally, in the illustrative embodiment, the solid state driversare mounted vertically in the storage cage 1252, but may be mounted inthe storage cage 1252 in a different orientation in other embodiments.Each solid state drive 1254 may be embodied as any type of data storagedevice capable of storing long term data. To do so, the solid statedrives 1254 may include volatile and non-volatile memory devicesdiscussed above.

As shown in FIG. 13, the storage controllers 1220, the communicationcircuit 830, and the optical data connector 834 are illustrativelymounted to the top side 650 of the chassis-less circuit board substrate602. Again, as discussed above, any suitable attachment or mountingtechnology may be used to mount the electrical components of the storagesled 1200 to the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602 including, forexample, sockets (e.g., a processor socket), holders, brackets, solderedconnections, and/or other mounting or securing techniques.

As discussed above, the individual storage controllers 1220 and thecommunication circuit 830 are mounted to the top side 650 of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 such that no twoheat-producing, electrical components shadow each other. For example,the storage controllers 1220 and the communication circuit 830 aremounted in corresponding locations on the top side 650 of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 such that no two of thoseelectrical components are linearly in-line with each other along thedirection of the airflow path 608.

The memory devices 720 of the storage sled 1200 are mounted to thebottom side 750 of the of the chassis-less circuit board substrate 602as discussed above in regard to the sled 400. Although mounted to thebottom side 750, the memory devices 720 are communicatively coupled tothe storage controllers 1220 located on the top side 650 via the I/Osubsystem 622. Again, because the chassis-less circuit board substrate602 is embodied as a double-sided circuit board, the memory devices 720and the storage controllers 1220 may be communicatively coupled by oneor more vias, connectors, or other mechanisms extending through thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602. Each of the storagecontrollers 1220 includes a heatsink 1270 secured thereto. As discussedabove, due to the improved thermal cooling characteristics of thechassis-less circuit board substrate 602 of the storage sled 1200, noneof the heatsinks 1270 include cooling fans attached thereto. That is,each of the heatsinks 1270 is embodied as a fan-less heatsink.

Referring now to FIG. 14, in some embodiments, the sled 400 may beembodied as a memory sled 1400. The storage sled 1400 is optimized, orotherwise configured, to provide other sleds 400 (e.g., compute sleds800, accelerator sleds 1000, etc.) with access to a pool of memory(e.g., in two or more sets 1430, 1432 of memory devices 720) local tothe memory sled 1200. For example, during operation, a compute sled 800or an accelerator sled 1000 may remotely write to and/or read from oneor more of the memory sets 1430, 1432 of the memory sled 1200 using alogical address space that maps to physical addresses in the memory sets1430, 1432. The memory sled 1400 includes various components similar tocomponents of the sled 400 and/or the compute sled 800, which have beenidentified in FIG. 14 using the same reference numbers. The descriptionof such components provided above in regard to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 applyto the corresponding components of the memory sled 1400 and is notrepeated herein for clarity of the description of the memory sled 1400.

In the illustrative memory sled 1400, the physical resources 620 areembodied as memory controllers 1420. Although only two memorycontrollers 1420 are shown in FIG. 14, it should be appreciated that thememory sled 1400 may include additional memory controllers 1420 in otherembodiments. The memory controllers 1420 may be embodied as any type ofprocessor, controller, or control circuit capable of controlling thewriting and reading of data into the memory sets 1430, 1432 based onrequests received via the communication circuit 830. In the illustrativeembodiment, each memory controller 1420 is connected to a correspondingmemory set 1430, 1432 to write to and read from memory devices 720within the corresponding memory set 1430, 1432 and enforce anypermissions (e.g., read, write, etc.) associated with sled 400 that hassent a request to the memory sled 1400 to perform a memory accessoperation (e.g., read or write).

In some embodiments, the memory sled 1400 may also include acontroller-to-controller interconnect 1442. Similar to theresource-to-resource interconnect 624 of the sled 400 discussed above,the controller-to-controller interconnect 1442 may be embodied as anytype of communication interconnect capable of facilitatingcontroller-to-controller communications. In the illustrative embodiment,the controller-to-controller interconnect 1442 is embodied as ahigh-speed point-to-point interconnect (e.g., faster than the I/Osubsystem 622). For example, the controller-to-controller interconnect1442 may be embodied as a QuickPath Interconnect (QPI), an UltraPathInterconnect (UPI), or other high-speed point-to-point interconnectdedicated to processor-to-processor communications. As such, in someembodiments, a memory controller 1420 may access, through thecontroller-to-controller interconnect 1442, memory that is within thememory set 1432 associated with another memory controller 1420. In someembodiments, a scalable memory controller is made of multiple smallermemory controllers, referred to herein as “chiplets”, on a memory sled(e.g., the memory sled 1400). The chiplets may be interconnected (e.g.,using EMIB (Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge)). The combinedchiplet memory controller may scale up to a relatively large number ofmemory controllers and I/O ports, (e.g., up to 16 memory channels). Insome embodiments, the memory controllers 1420 may implement a memoryinterleave (e.g., one memory address is mapped to the memory set 1430,the next memory address is mapped to the memory set 1432, and the thirdaddress is mapped to the memory set 1430, etc.). The interleaving may bemanaged within the memory controllers 1420, or from CPU sockets (e.g.,of the compute sled 800) across network links to the memory sets 1430,1432, and may improve the latency associated with performing memoryaccess operations as compared to accessing contiguous memory addressesfrom the same memory device.

Further, in some embodiments, the memory sled 1400 may be connected toone or more other sleds 400 (e.g., in the same rack 240 or an adjacentrack 240) through a waveguide, using the waveguide connector 1480. Inthe illustrative embodiment, the waveguides are 64 millimeter waveguidesthat provide 16 Rx (i.e., receive) lanes and 16 Tx (i.e., transmit)lanes. Each lane, in the illustrative embodiment, is either 16 GHz or 32GHz. In other embodiments, the frequencies may be different. Using awaveguide may provide high throughput access to the memory pool (e.g.,the memory sets 1430, 1432) to another sled (e.g., a sled 400 in thesame rack 240 or an adjacent rack 240 as the memory sled 1400) withoutadding to the load on the optical data connector 834.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a system for executing one or more workloads(e.g., applications) may be implemented in accordance with the datacenter 100. In the illustrative embodiment, the system 1510 includes anorchestrator server 1520, which may be embodied as a managed nodecomprising a compute device (e.g., a processor 820 on a compute sled800) executing management software (e.g., a cloud operating environment,such as OpenStack) that is communicatively coupled to multiple sleds 400including a large number of compute sleds 1530 (e.g., each similar tothe compute sled 800), memory sleds 1540 (e.g., each similar to thememory sled 1400), accelerator sleds 1550 (e.g., each similar to thememory sled 1000), and storage sleds 1560 (e.g., each similar to thestorage sled 1200). One or more of the sleds 1530, 1540, 1550, 1560 maybe grouped into a managed node 1570, such as by the orchestrator server1520, to collectively perform a workload (e.g., an application 1532executed in a virtual machine or in a container). The managed node 1570may be embodied as an assembly of physical resources 620, such asprocessors 820, memory resources 720, accelerator circuits 1020, or datastorage 1250, from the same or different sleds 400. Further, the managednode may be established, defined, or “spun up” by the orchestratorserver 1520 at the time a workload is to be assigned to the managed nodeor at any other time, and may exist regardless of whether any workloadsare presently assigned to the managed node. In the illustrativeembodiment, the orchestrator server 1520 may selectively allocate and/ordeallocate physical resources 620 from the sleds 400 and/or add orremove one or more sleds 400 from the managed node 1570 as a function ofquality of service (QoS) targets (e.g., performance targets associatedwith a throughput, latency, instructions per second, etc.) associatedwith a service level agreement for the workload (e.g., the application1532). In doing so, the orchestrator server 1520 may receive telemetrydata indicative of performance conditions (e.g., throughput, latency,instructions per second, etc.) in each sled 400 of the managed node 1570and compare the telemetry data to the quality of service targets todetermine whether the quality of service targets are being satisfied.The orchestrator server 1520 may additionally determine whether one ormore physical resources may be deallocated from the managed node 1570while still satisfying the QoS targets, thereby freeing up thosephysical resources for use in another managed node (e.g., to execute adifferent workload). Alternatively, if the QoS targets are not presentlysatisfied, the orchestrator server 1520 may determine to dynamicallyallocate additional physical resources to assist in the execution of theworkload (e.g., the application 1532) while the workload is executing.Similarly, the orchestrator server 1520 may determine to dynamicallydeallocate physical resources from a managed node if the orchestratorserver 1520 determines that deallocating the physical resource wouldresult in QoS targets still being met.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the orchestrator server 1520 mayidentify trends in the resource utilization of the workload (e.g., theapplication 1532), such as by identifying phases of execution (e.g.,time periods in which different operations, each having differentresource utilizations characteristics, are performed) of the workload(e.g., the application 1532) and pre-emptively identifying availableresources in the data center 100 and allocating them to the managed node1570 (e.g., within a predefined time period of the associated phasebeginning). In some embodiments, the orchestrator server 1520 may modelperformance based on various latencies and a distribution scheme toplace workloads among compute sleds and other resources (e.g.,accelerator sleds, memory sleds, storage sleds) in the data center 100.For example, the orchestrator server 1520 may utilize a model thataccounts for the performance of resources on the sleds 400 (e.g., FPGAperformance, memory access latency, etc.) and the performance (e.g.,congestion, latency, bandwidth) of the path through the network to theresource (e.g., FPGA). As such, the orchestrator server 1520 maydetermine which resource(s) should be used with which workloads based onthe total latency associated with each potential resource available inthe data center 100 (e.g., the latency associated with the performanceof the resource itself in addition to the latency associated with thepath through the network between the compute sled executing the workloadand the sled 400 on which the resource is located).

In some embodiments, the orchestrator server 1520 may generate a map ofheat generation in the data center 100 using telemetry data (e.g.,temperatures, fan speeds, etc.) reported from the sleds 400 and allocateresources to managed nodes as a function of the map of heat generationand predicted heat generation associated with different workloads, tomaintain a target temperature and heat distribution in the data center100. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, theorchestrator server 1520 may organize received telemetry data into ahierarchical model that is indicative of a relationship between themanaged nodes (e.g., a spatial relationship such as the physicallocations of the resources of the managed nodes within the data center100 and/or a functional relationship, such as groupings of the managednodes by the customers the managed nodes provide services for, the typesof functions typically performed by the managed nodes, managed nodesthat typically share or exchange workloads among each other, etc.).Based on differences in the physical locations and resources in themanaged nodes, a given workload may exhibit different resourceutilizations (e.g., cause a different internal temperature, use adifferent percentage of processor or memory capacity) across theresources of different managed nodes. The orchestrator server 1520 maydetermine the differences based on the telemetry data stored in thehierarchical model and factor the differences into a prediction offuture resource utilization of a workload if the workload is reassignedfrom one managed node to another managed node, to accurately balanceresource utilization in the data center 100.

To reduce the computational load on the orchestrator server 1520 and thedata transfer load on the network, in some embodiments, the orchestratorserver 1520 may send self-test information to the sleds 400 to enableeach sled 400 to locally (e.g., on the sled 400) determine whethertelemetry data generated by the sled 400 satisfies one or moreconditions (e.g., an available capacity that satisfies a predefinedthreshold, a temperature that satisfies a predefined threshold, etc.).Each sled 400 may then report back a simplified result (e.g., yes or no)to the orchestrator server 1520, which the orchestrator server 1520 mayutilize in determining the allocation of resources to managed nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 16, a system 1610 for efficiently booting sledsincludes an orchestrator server 1620, similar to the orchestrator server1520, in communication with multiple sleds 1632, 1634 (collectively, thesleds 1630), each of which is similar to the sled 400 described above,and a client device 1614 (e.g., a compute device), through a network1612. The sled 1632, includes hardware 1640, which may be embodied asthe physical components of the sled 400 (e.g., the physical resources620, 630, the I/O subsystem 630, the memory resources 720, etc.).Additionally, in the illustrative embodiment, the sled 1632 includesfirmware (e.g., executable instructions programmed into a nonvolatilememory, such as a flash read-only memory (ROM) or other nonvolatilememory included in the memory resources 720). In the illustrativeembodiment, the firmware 1650 includes a micro BIOS 1652, which may beembodied as a BIOS having support for a relatively limited set ofhardware 1640 (e.g., less than a typical compute device) and acorrespondingly smaller amount of logic and physical space requirementsas compared to a typical BIOS. Further, the firmware 1650 includes anembedded operating system (OS) 1654, which may be embodied as a programthat, after being initially loaded by a boot process, manages otherprograms executed by the sled 1632. In the illustrative embodiment, theembedded operating system 1654 manages the access of workloads 1660,1662, which may be executed in containers 1670, 1672 or virtualmachines, to the hardware 1640. In the illustrative embodiment, theoperating system 1654 has just enough drivers to match the hardware ofthe sled 1632. For example if the sled 1632 does not have hardwaresupport for Universal Serial Bus (USB) or Serial AT Attachment (SATA),the operating system 1654 does not include drivers for those interfaces.Similarly if the sled 1632 is targeted for a specific purpose, such asFunction as a Service (FaaS), the operating system 1654, in theillustrative embodiment may have just enough services to execute FaaSrather than running an application. As explained in more detail herein,the sled 1632 boots faster than a typical compute device because thesled 1632, in the illustrative embodiment, utilizes multiple processors,rather than a single processor, to perform operations in the bootprocess. The sled 1632 may also skip device detection operations andinstead read previously-stored device data (e.g., produced during aprevious boot, provided by a manufacturer of the sleds 1632, etc.). Inthe illustrative embodiment, and as explained in more detail herein, thesled 1632 may skip the typical process of preparing device data tables(e.g., an advanced control and power interface (ACPI) table, a systemmanagement BIOS (SMBIOS) table, etc.) for use by the operating system(e.g., the operating system 1654), thereby further simplifying the bootprocess and enabling the boot process to execute faster than in typicalcompute devices.

As described above, the orchestrator server 1620, the sleds 1630, andthe client device 1614 are illustratively in communication via thenetwork 1612, which may be embodied as any type of wired or wirelesscommunication network, including global networks (e.g., the Internet),local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs), cellularnetworks (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), 3G, LongTerm Evolution (LTE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), etc.), digital subscriber line (DSL) networks, cable networks(e.g., coaxial networks, fiber networks, etc.), or any combinationthereof.

Referring now to FIG. 17, the sled 1632, in operation, may execute amethod 1700 for booting. The method 1700 begins with block 1702, inwhich the sled 1632 determines whether to boot. In doing so, the sled1632 may determine to boot in response to receiving power, in responseto detecting a power cycle, and/or based on other factors. Regardless,in response to a determination to boot, the method 1700 advances toblock 1704 in which the sled 1632 determines whether to use storeddevice data indicative of the presence and/or settings of devicesinstalled on the sled 1632. In doing so, the sled 1632 may determinewhether stored device data is present in the memory (e.g., the memoryresources 720), as indicated in block 1706, in which case the sled 1632may determine to utilize the stored device data (e.g., to speed up theboot process). As indicated in block 1708, the sled 1632 may determinewhether the sled 1632 is to reboot from an error (e.g., by determiningwhether error data, such as an error log indicative of an error thatresulted in a determination to reboot the sled 1632, is present in thememory). In the illustrative embodiment, if the sled 1632 is to rebootfrom an error, the sled 1632 determines not to utilize stored devicedata during the present boot process (e.g., because a hardware changemay have occurred that should be detected during the boot process).Additionally or alternatively, the sled 1632 may determine whether thesled 1632 is to boot after a configuration change occurred (e.g., inresponse to determining that data indicative of a configuration changeis present in the memory 720), as indicated in block 1710. The sled 1632may additionally or alternatively determine whether a flag (e.g., a bit)indicative of whether to utilized stored device data is set (e.g., to apredefined value, such as one), as indicated in block 1712.

In block 1714, the sled 1632 determines whether to utilize multipleprocessors for the boot process. In the illustrative embodiment, thesled 1632 determines to utilize multiple processors in response todetermining that the sled 1632 is equipped with multiple processors. Indoing so, the sled 1632 may treat a processor having multiple cores as aset of different processors. In other embodiments, the sled 1632 maymake the determination based on other factors (e.g., a configurationsetting, etc.). Regardless, in response to a determination to usemultiple processors, the method 1700 advances to block 1716, in whichthe sled 1632 performs the boot process with multiple processors (e.g.,the processors 820 of FIG. 8). In doing so, the sled 1632, in theillustrative embodiment, enables, with a designated boot processor 820,an additional processor 820 to assist in the boot process, as indicatedin block 1718. As indicated in block 1720, in doing so, the sled 1632enables, with a boot strap processor (BSP), an application processor(AP) (e.g., a processor that is typically only enabled after anoperating system has been loaded, to execute applications) to assist inthe boot, such as by setting, by the BSP, a predefined data value in acorresponding register (e.g., a model specific register) of the AP. Itshould be understood that the BSP may enable multiple APs of the sled1632 to assist in the boot process. The sled 1632 may perform a subsetof boot operations with one processor (e.g., the BSP) and another subsetof boot operations with another processor (an AP enabled in block 1720),as indicated in block 1722. For example, the BSP may search for anoption ROM or perform other boot operations while the AP copies anoperating system boot sector into memory (e.g., the memory 720), asindicated in block 1724. As indicated in block 1726, the sled 1632 mayassist, with the AP, device detection operations that are typically onlyperformed by the BSP. In doing so, the sled 1632 may perform businitialization (e.g., initialize a PCIe bus and/or other local bus)operations with the AP, as indicated in block 1728.

As indicated in block 1730, the sled 1632 may perform bus enumerationoperations with the AP. Further, the sled 1632 may produce, with the AP,device data (e.g., an ACPI table, an SMBUS table, etc.) usable by theoperating system, as indicated in block 1732. In the illustrativeembodiment, the sled 1632 performs the device detection operations ofblock 1726 in response to a determination, in block 1704, that the sled1632 is not to utilize stored device data for the boot process.Otherwise, and as indicated in block 1734, the sled 1632 readspreviously-stored device data, thereby eliminating the device detectionoperations from the boot process and reducing the total boot time.Referring back to block 1714, if the sled 1632 instead determines not touse multiple processors for the boot process, the method 1700 advancesto block 1736, in which the sled 1632 performs the boot operations witha single processor 820 (e.g., the BSP). In doing so, the sled 1632performs device detection operations with the BSP, as indicated in block1738. Alternatively, the sled 1632 reads previously-stored device datawith the BSP, as indicated in block 1740. After performing theoperations of blocks 1716 or 1736, the method 1700 advances to block1742 of FIG. 18, in which the sled 1632 initializes an operating system.

Referring now to FIG. 18, in the illustrative embodiment, the sled 1632initializes an operating system present in the firmware 1650 of the sled1632 (e.g., the embedded operating system 1654), as indicated in block1744. Further, as indicated in block 1746, the sled 1632 may initializethe operating system without providing device data tables (e.g., tablesof device data produced or read during the boot process) to theoperating system. In the illustrative embodiment, the sled 1632initializes the operating system without providing an ACPI or SMBIOStable to the operating system, as indicated in block 1748. For example,the operating system may be configured to operate with a fixed set ofknown hardware, rather than referring to a set of device data tablespopulated during the boot process.

Subsequently, in block 1750, the sled 1632 awaits an assignment of oneor more workloads (e.g., from the orchestrator server 1620). In responseto receiving assignment(s) of one or more workloads, the method 1700advances to block 1752 in which the sled 1632 executes the one or moreworkloads. In doing so, the sled 1632 may execute the workload(s) incontainer(s) (e.g., the containers 1670, 1672) or in virtual machines,as indicated in block 1754. Further, in the illustrative embodiment, theoperating system 1654 may access devices of the sled 1632 without usinga device data table (e.g., an ACPI table or SMBIOS table) populatedduring the boot process, as indicated in block 1756. Rather, theoperating system 1654 may access hardcoded device data, as indicated inblock 1758.

EXAMPLES

Illustrative examples of the technologies disclosed herein are providedbelow. An embodiment of the technologies may include any one or more,and any combination of, the examples described below.

Example 1 includes a sled comprising a network interface controller; aset of processors; firmware that includes an operating system; andcircuitry to (i) perform, with multiple processors in the set ofprocessors, a boot process, (ii) initialize the operating system presentin the firmware, (iii) receive, with the network interface controllerand from another sled, an assignment of a workload, and (iv) execute theassigned workload with the operating system.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and wherein thecircuitry is further to determine whether to utilize, during the bootprocess, stored device data indicative of the presence and one or moresettings of a device in the sled; and wherein to perform the bootprocess comprises to read, in response to a determination to utilizestored device data, stored device data produced in a previous bootprocess of the sled.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 and 2, andwherein the circuitry is further to determine whether to utilize, duringthe boot process, stored device data indicative of the presence and oneor more settings of a device in the sled; and wherein to perform theboot process comprises to perform, in response to a determination not toutilize stored device data, one or more device detection operations.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-3, andwherein to perform, with multiple processors, the boot process comprisesto enable, with a designated boot processor, an additional processor toassist in the boot process.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4, andwherein to enable, with a designated boot processor, an additionalprocessor to assist in the boot process comprises to enable, with a bootstrap processor, an application processor to assist in the boot process.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-5, andwherein to perform, with multiple processors, the boot process,comprises to perform a first subset of boot operations with a firstprocessor in the set of processors, and perform, with a second processorin the set of processors, a second subset of the boot operations.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-6, andwherein to perform, with the second processor in the set of processors,a second subset of the boot operations comprises to copy, with anapplication processor, an operating system boot sector into a memory ofthe sled.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-7, andwherein to perform, with multiple processors, a boot process comprisesto assist, with an application processor in the set of processors, oneor more device detection operations.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-8, andwherein to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations comprises to performa bus initialization operation with the application processor.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-9, andwherein to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations comprises to performa bus enumeration operation with the application processor.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-10, andwherein to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations comprises toproduce, with the application processor, device data indicative of thepresence of one or more devices in the sled.

Example 12 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-11, andwherein to initialize the operating system comprises to initialize theoperating system without providing an advanced configuration and powerinterface (ACPI) table or a system management basic input output system(SMBIOS) table to the operating system.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-12, andwherein to execute the assigned workload with the operating systemcomprises to access one or more devices of the sled without utilizing adevice data table populated during a boot process of the sled.

Example 14 includes one or more machine-readable storage mediacomprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that, in responseto being executed, cause a sled to perform, with multiple processors ina set of processors of the sled, a boot process; initialize an operatingsystem present in a firmware of the sled; receive, with a networkinterface controller of the sled, and from another sled, an assignmentof a workload; and execute the assigned workload with the operatingsystem.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and wherein, whenexecuted, the plurality of instructions further cause the sled todetermine whether to utilize, during the boot process, stored devicedata indicative of the presence and one or more settings of a device inthe sled; and wherein to perform the boot process comprises to read, inresponse to a determination to utilize stored device data, stored devicedata produced in a previous boot process of the sled.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14 and 15, andwherein, when executed, the plurality of instructions further cause thesled to determine whether to utilize, during the boot process, storeddevice data indicative of the presence and one or more settings of adevice in the sled; and wherein to perform the boot process comprises toperform, in response to a determination not to utilize stored devicedata, one or more device detection operations.

Example 17 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-16, andwherein to perform, with multiple processors, the boot process comprisesto enable, with a designated boot processor, an additional processor toassist in the boot process.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-17, andwherein to enable, with a designated boot processor, an additionalprocessor to assist in the boot process comprises to enable, with a bootstrap processor, an application processor to assist in the boot process.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-18, andwherein to perform, with multiple processors, the boot process,comprises to perform a first subset of boot operations with a firstprocessor in the set of processors, and perform, with a second processorin the set of processors, a second subset of the boot operations.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-19, andwherein to perform, with the second processor in the set of processors,a second subset of the boot operations comprises to copy, with anapplication processor, an operating system boot sector into a memory ofthe sled.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-20, andwherein to perform, with multiple processors, a boot process comprisesto assist, with an application processor in the set of processors, oneor more device detection operations.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-21, andwherein to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations comprises to performa bus initialization operation with the application processor.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-22, andwherein to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations comprises to performa bus enumeration operation with the application processor.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 14-23, andwherein to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations comprises toproduce, with the application processor, device data indicative of thepresence of one or more devices in the sled.

Example 25 includes a sled comprising means for performing, withmultiple processors in a set of processors of the sled, a boot process;circuitry for initializing an operating system present in a firmware ofthe sled; circuitry for receiving, with a network interface controllerof the sled, and from another sled, an assignment of a workload; andcircuitry for executing the assigned workload with the operating system.

Example 26 includes a method comprising performing, with multipleprocessors in a set of processors of a sled, a boot process;initializing, by the sled, an operating system present in a firmware ofthe sled; receiving, with a network interface controller of the sled,and from another sled, an assignment of a workload; and executing, bythe sled, the assigned workload with the operating system.

Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, and furtherincluding determining, by the sled, whether to utilize, during the bootprocess, stored device data indicative of the presence and one or moresettings of a device in the sled; and wherein performing the bootprocess comprises reading, in response to a determination to utilizestored device data, stored device data produced in a previous bootprocess of the sled.

Example 28 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26 and 27, andfurther including determining, by the sled, whether to utilize, duringthe boot process, stored device data indicative of the presence and oneor more settings of a device in the sled; and wherein performing theboot process comprises performing, in response to a determination not toutilize stored device data, one or more device detection operations.

1. A sled comprising: a network interface controller; a set ofprocessors; firmware that includes an operating system; and circuitry to(i) perform, with multiple processors in the set of processors, a bootprocess, (ii) initialize the operating system present in the firmware,(iii) receive, with the network interface controller and from anothersled, an assignment of a workload, and (iv) execute the assignedworkload with the operating system.
 2. The sled of claim 1, wherein thecircuitry is further to: determine whether to utilize, during the bootprocess, stored device data indicative of the presence and one or moresettings of a device in the sled; and wherein to perform the bootprocess comprises to read, in response to a determination to utilizestored device data, stored device data produced in a previous bootprocess of the sled.
 3. The sled of claim 1, wherein the circuitry isfurther to: determine whether to utilize, during the boot process,stored device data indicative of the presence and one or more settingsof a device in the sled; and wherein to perform the boot processcomprises to perform, in response to a determination not to utilizestored device data, one or more device detection operations.
 4. The sledof claim 1, wherein to perform, with multiple processors, the bootprocess comprises to enable, with a designated boot processor, anadditional processor to assist in the boot process.
 5. The sled of claim4, wherein to enable, with a designated boot processor, an additionalprocessor to assist in the boot process comprises to enable, with a bootstrap processor, an application processor to assist in the boot process.6. The sled of claim 1, wherein to perform, with multiple processors,the boot process, comprises to perform a first subset of boot operationswith a first processor in the set of processors, and perform, with asecond processor in the set of processors, a second subset of the bootoperations.
 7. The sled of claim 1, wherein to perform, with the secondprocessor in the set of processors, a second subset of the bootoperations comprises to copy, with an application processor, anoperating system boot sector into a memory of the sled.
 8. The sled ofclaim 1, wherein to perform, with multiple processors, a boot processcomprises to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations.
 9. The sled ofclaim 8, wherein to assist, with an application processor in the set ofprocessors, one or more device detection operations comprises to performa bus initialization operation with the application processor.
 10. Thesled of claim 8, wherein to assist, with an application processor in theset of processors, one or more device detection operations comprises toperform a bus enumeration operation with the application processor. 11.The sled of claim 8, wherein to assist, with an application processor inthe set of processors, one or more device detection operations comprisesto produce, with the application processor, device data indicative ofthe presence of one or more devices in the sled.
 12. The sled of claim1, wherein to initialize the operating system comprises to initializethe operating system without providing an advanced configuration andpower interface (ACPI) table or a system management basic input outputsystem (SMBIOS) table to the operating system.
 13. The sled of claim 1,wherein to execute the assigned workload with the operating systemcomprises to access one or more devices of the sled without utilizing adevice data table populated during a boot process of the sled.
 14. Oneor more machine-readable storage media comprising a plurality ofinstructions stored thereon that, in response to being executed, cause asled to: perform, with multiple processors in a set of processors of thesled, a boot process; initialize an operating system present in afirmware of the sled; receive, with a network interface controller ofthe sled, and from another sled, an assignment of a workload; andexecute the assigned workload with the operating system.
 15. The one ormore machine-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein, when executed,the plurality of instructions further cause the sled to: determinewhether to utilize, during the boot process, stored device dataindicative of the presence and one or more settings of a device in thesled; and wherein to perform the boot process comprises to read, inresponse to a determination to utilize stored device data, stored devicedata produced in a previous boot process of the sled.
 16. The one ormore machine-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein, when executed,the plurality of instructions further cause the sled to: determinewhether to utilize, during the boot process, stored device dataindicative of the presence and one or more settings of a device in thesled; and wherein to perform the boot process comprises to perform, inresponse to a determination not to utilize stored device data, one ormore device detection operations.
 17. The one or more machine-readablestorage media of claim 14, wherein to perform, with multiple processors,the boot process comprises to enable, with a designated boot processor,an additional processor to assist in the boot process.
 18. The one ormore machine-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein to enable, witha designated boot processor, an additional processor to assist in theboot process comprises to enable, with a boot strap processor, anapplication processor to assist in the boot process.
 19. The one or moremachine-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein to perform, withmultiple processors, the boot process, comprises to perform a firstsubset of boot operations with a first processor in the set ofprocessors, and perform, with a second processor in the set ofprocessors, a second subset of the boot operations.
 20. The one or moremachine-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein to perform, with thesecond processor in the set of processors, a second subset of the bootoperations comprises to copy, with an application processor, anoperating system boot sector into a memory of the sled.
 21. The one ormore machine-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein to perform,with multiple processors, a boot process comprises to assist, with anapplication processor in the set of processors, one or more devicedetection operations.
 22. The one or more machine-readable storage mediaof claim 21, wherein to assist, with an application processor in the setof processors, one or more device detection operations comprises toperform a bus initialization operation with the application processor.23. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 21, whereinto assist, with an application processor in the set of processors, oneor more device detection operations comprises to perform a busenumeration operation with the application processor.
 24. The one ormore machine-readable storage media of claim 21, wherein to assist, withan application processor in the set of processors, one or more devicedetection operations comprises to produce, with the applicationprocessor, device data indicative of the presence of one or more devicesin the sled.
 25. A sled comprising: means for performing, with multipleprocessors in a set of processors of the sled, a boot process; circuitryfor initializing an operating system present in a firmware of the sled;circuitry for receiving, with a network interface controller of thesled, and from another sled, an assignment of a workload; and circuitryfor executing the assigned workload with the operating system.
 26. Amethod comprising: performing, with multiple processors in a set ofprocessors of a sled, a boot process; initializing, by the sled, anoperating system present in a firmware of the sled; receiving, with anetwork interface controller of the sled, and from another sled, anassignment of a workload; and executing, by the sled, the assignedworkload with the operating system.
 27. The method of claim 26, furthercomprising: determining, by the sled, whether to utilize, during theboot process, stored device data indicative of the presence and one ormore settings of a device in the sled; and wherein performing the bootprocess comprises reading, in response to a determination to utilizestored device data, stored device data produced in a previous bootprocess of the sled.
 28. The method of claim 26, further comprising:determining, by the sled, whether to utilize, during the boot process,stored device data indicative of the presence and one or more settingsof a device in the sled; and wherein performing the boot processcomprises performing, in response to a determination not to utilizestored device data, one or more device detection operations.